SDAFF 2021: ‘Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes’ Reviewed – Simple But Compelling Time Manipulation
by Gary Catig
The San Diego Asian Film Festival has begun and it provides an eclectic selection of movies from both the continent and those produced by the diaspora. We’ve already reviewed the Filipino cult classic, Lumpia. Another of the event’s selections is the science fiction comedy, Beyond the Two Infinite Minutes.
The story follows Kato (Kazunari Tosa), a café owner and aspiring musician. One evening after returning home, which is above his business, he discovers a delay on the computer screens in both his apartment and café allowing him to see two minutes into the future. When his friends come to visit and learn of his “Time TV,” they all experiment with it testing the limits of the anomaly. Maybe if they can master its time manipulation, it could help Kato muster the courage to ask out his crush, Megumi, the girl-next-door, or maybe even amass riches.
Time travel isn’t a new concept in science fiction but Beyond the Two Infinite Minutes takes a fresh and entertaining approach. With such a short time interval, it’s funny seeing the friends’ rudimentary antics playing with the time loop. It demonstrates a level of absurdity that with such a scientific breakthrough, they are merely playing games with it. Some of the jokes, such as showing a picture of a desolate world to scare their past selves for messing with the future, is the type of foolishness I would pull communicating back in time.
As the film progresses, their curiosity and ingenuity increase and there’s a more serious tonal shift. Interesting philosophical questions are introduced such as the morality of time manipulation and how tied are the characters to the futures they witness. The crew attract the wrong type of attention and Kato must save the day in a well-choreographed and smartly written rescue.
Technically, Beyond the Two Infinite Minutes is an impressive feat for director, Junta Yamaguchi. It is shot as a single-take in a limited location on an iPhone camera. It requires the work of a dedicated cast and filmmaker to coordinate all the interactions, especially the ones that occur with the different screens. To effectively pull it all off is mind blowing. I only question having such a long cord for the computer screens because they are dragged some distances further than a typical cord can reach.
Tosa excels as the lead and makes Kato’s journey that evening compelling. He transitions through various emotions including disbelief, inquisitiveness, annoyance and cynical. When it’s time to correct the transgressions of the night, you feel sympathy for the character considering what he went through and what he risks losing.
Beyond the Two Infinite Minutes is a fun and surprisingly complex time manipulating ride with an admirable technical approach to storytelling.
Catch the movie at the San Diego Asian Film Festival on Sunday, October 31st, and Monday, November, 1st. SDAFF runs from now until November 6.
